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Biomedical subjects

Y Okuno

Publications and source records attributed to Y Okuno.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

An epidemiological study of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis in Japan, 1976.

The National Registry for subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) of Japan was established in 1976 at the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. By March 1977, forty five clinically confirmed cases of SSPE were reported to the Registry, with onset of symptoms occurring between 1966 and 1976. Histories of measles were available in 42 of these cases. Thirty nine patients with known histories had measles prior to onset of SSPE and 3 had no history of measles illness. Twenty eight (71.7%) of the 39 patients had measles before the age of 2 years. All cases were 1 to 14 years old at the time of onset of SSPE and the mean interval between measles and SSPE was 6.1 years. One of the 3 cases with no history of measles was a recipient of measles killed vaccine, but no case of SSPE was reported among recipients of measles live, attenuated vaccine.

Adolescent↗

Rubella epidemic in an institution: protective value of live rubella vaccine and serological behavior of vaccinated, revaccinated and naturally immune groups.

A rubella epidemic occurred in an institutional population composed of 189 susceptible, 37 naturally immune, 35 previously vaccinated and 38 serologically uncharacterized children and nursing staff. The epidemic lasted 3.5 months and showed more than 5 waves. Detailed clinical and serological examinations of these subjects were made. A rash appeared in 156 (52%) of 299 persons, including 145 (87%) of 166 unvaccinated and serologically uncharacterized subjects, but not in the 72 immune persons. In the middle of the 3rd wave urgent vaccination of 61 children aged 0 to 2 years of the susceptible group reduced the rate of appearance of a rash to 11 of the children (18%), as compared with 126 (98%) of 128 subjects in the unvaccinated non-immune group. The epidemic only reached a 4th wave in the vaccinated group, but it extended to a 5th wave or more in unvaccinated subjects. None of the 35 subjects in a previously vaccinated group developed rubella, although the rate of subclinical reinfection in this previously vaccinated group was higher (35%) than that in the naturally immune group (17%). Three cases of subclinical reinfection were detected even among 6 previously revaccinated subjects.

Adolescent↗

Studies on the use of mumps virus for treatment of human cancer.

Purified mumps virus (Urabe strain) was given mainly by intravenous injection to a total of 200 patients with cancer. The only adverse clinical reaction was transient mild fever in about half the patients. The beneficial clinical effects were as follows; decrease or disappearance of ascites and edema of the lower limbs at high rates (26/37 and 4/4, respectively), usually within a week after treatment: decrease or stoppage of cancerous bleeding in 30 of 35 patients: decrease or disappearance of pain in most of the patients: and tumor regression in 26 patients with cancer of the breast, rectum, ileocaecum, thyroid gland, uterus, skin, etc. Histologically, the virus-treatment caused shrinkage of nuclei and vacuolization of the cytoplasma of tumor cells, but the degenerative changes of tumor cells were not so great as those after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Infiltration of lymphocytes, fibrosis and collagenesis occurred around tumor tissues, where necrosis or exfoliation of tumor cells was frequently observed.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Changes in dengue and Japanese encephalitis (JE) antibody after JE vaccination.

Serological studies before and after Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccination were made on subjects of various ethnic groups with or without dengue and/or JE antibodies. In these subjects dengue and JE hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) and neutralization (N) antibodies were measured. Seroconversion to JE was observed in about 45% of the subjects by the HI test and 63% by the N test, whereas seroconversion to dengue with only 4-fold increase in titer after vaccination was detected in 14% by the HI test and in a single case (3%) by the N test. The presence of JE and/or dengue antibody in the prevaccination sera did not significantly influence the seroconversion rates of JE-HI and N-antibodies after vaccination. Moreover the seroconversion rate did not seem to vary markedly in different ethnic groups, although tendencies for subjects from Southeast Asia to have dengue antibodies and Japanese people to have JE antibodies were demonstrated. The presence of dengue N-antibodies in the prevaccination sera did not significantly influence the geometrical mean titer of postvaccination JE-N antibody. Thus the antibody response to JE vaccination was fairly specific to JE, and no marked secondary response was observed.

Adult↗

Stereospecificity in toxicity of the optical isomers of EPN.

While the optical isomers of EPN were equally toxic to mice, (+)-EPN was 2.9 fold and 4.0 fold more toxic to houseflies and rice stem borer larvae, respectively, than the (-)-isomer. In addition, (-)-EPN produced paralysis of the legs in hens about 10 to 14 days after dosing, whereas (+)-EPN caused no paralytic effects. Thus, (+)-EPN appears to be a more appropriate insecticide than the racemic compound, since it combines high toxicity to insects and no delayed neruotoxicity in hens.

Animals↗

Effect of bursa Fabricius extracts on antibody production in bursectomized or bursal cell autografted chickens.

Restoration and enhancement of immune response against BSA antigen was achieved by 5-day consecutive doses of BF estract from 4-5-week-old chickens, in birds which had been surgically bursectomized or given BF-cell autografts at 17 days of age. A similar 5-day treatment with other tissue extract, i.e. liver, spleen, pancreas or intestine, or with LPS of E. coli, in contrast, failed to provide such restoration or enhancement.

Age Factors↗

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE): isolation of a defective variant of measles virus from brain obtained at autopsy.

A cytopathic agent causing formation of syncytial giant cells was isolated by co-cultivation of human embryonic lung cells with brain cells obtained at autopsy from a patient with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Measles specific intracellular immunofluorescence was detected in syncytial giant cells developed by the agent. Paramyxovirus-like nucleocapsids were observed by electron microscopy in nuclei of the syncytial giant cells. Measles specific immunofluorescence was also detected on the surface of unfixed syncytial giant cells. However, the synycytial giant cells did not produce either virions or hemogglutinin, and did not show hemadsorption of African green monkey red cells. Hence, the newly isolated agent seems to be a defective variant of measles virus, and was designated as the SSPE-"BIKEN" strain.

Brain↗

Development of a live attenuated varicella vaccine.

The Oka strain of varicella virus, isolated in our labolatory, was serially cultivated in guinea-pig embryo cultures (GPEC), and a considerable amount of cell-free virus was obtained from infected cell. GPEC passage virus at the 6th passage level was used in a small scale field trial. Susceptible children of 1 to 10 years old were injected subcutaneously with 100 to 1,000 PFU of virus. No clinical reactions due to the vaccination were observed in any children, and a high rate of antibody response was obtained with viral doses of more than 200 PFU. Attenuated virus obtained by passage in GPEC was propagated in human diploid (WI-38) cells, and it was also effective in inducing an immune response without clinical reactions. The results show that the Oka strain of varicella virus passaged in GPEC and human diploid (WI-38) cells may be used safely and effectively as a live attenuated vaccine.

Animals↗